Owls have insanely soft feathers in general -- it's an adaptation that helps make their flight nearly soundless -- but this one shed by @hawkwatch education bird Kotori is maybe the softest thing I've ever touched in my life. Parts of it just floated as if it was in water. Crazy. Unfortunately he pooped on the bottom of it so I couldn't add it to the Hawkwatch feather collection. :D But I took a little video to show you how it moved. The absolutely enchanting quality of feathers like these is one of the reasons why they're illegal to possess in the US. It's easy to see what made these feathers so appealing for things like fancy hats... and why so many native bird species were pushed to the brink of extinction in part for the sake of fashion. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act now protects birds in part by protecting every little part of them and their reproductive process, from feathers to nests to eggs. Even feathers you find in the woods, naturally shed by a passing bird, should be left where they lie. (The exceptions are mostly non-native and game birds; their feathers are okay to have. And if you want to craft with feathers, there are places that trim and paint turkey feathers to look like raptor feathers!) Educational organizations like Hawkwatch can keep feathers as visual aids for our presentations, but it requires permits, and though I help care for the birds I'm not allowed to keep anything like this, either. It's for their protection, and it's just another part of the "take only pictures, leave only footprints" ethos of wildlands and wildlife. (I'm obviously enthusiastic about the "pictures" part. 😁) #greathornedowl #owlfeathers #feathers #birdfeathers #owlsofinstagram #owlstagram #migratorybirdtreatyact #feathercollecting #birdsofprey
